• “Iran is also a member of OPEC, does this mean that the Kingdom is standing with Iran as well?”: Prince Khalid

Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is astonished by accusations that the Kingdom is siding with Russia in its war with Ukraine, Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Sunday.

Retweeting a Twitter post by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and announcing Saudi aid to the country, Prince Khalid said it was telling that “these false accusations did not come from the Ukrainian government.”

We are astonished by the accusations that the kingdom is standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine. It is telling that these false accusations did not come from the Ukrainian government. https://t.co/YIz441YinT

— Khalid bin Salman خالد بن سلمان (@kbsalsaud) October 16, 2022

The minister said that some were accusing the Kingdom of standing with Russia despite the fact that the decision taken by OPEC+ on Oct.5 to cut production by 2 million barrels per day was unanimous and “due to purely economic reasons.”

“Iran is also a member of OPEC, does this mean that the Kingdom is standing with Iran as well?” the minister asked.

Meanwhile, the secretary general of OPEC Haitham Al-Ghais said on Sunday that the organization does not target a specific price, but rather targets balance between supply and demand.

“Slow economic growth reflects on oil demand and OPEC+ took a pre-emptive decision,” he said.

“The stability of oil markets is important for the future, it is not only about today. Our decisions are purely technical,” the official said.